Thread by @SaksithCNA

(THREAD) There's lots of confusion about the new travel rules to #Thailand b/c of #Omicron. There's bigger confusion for those scheduled to arrive here and what they're facing, leading a lot of frantic queries (RIP my inbox).

Here's a breakdown of the contradictory statements.

1) First, about #Omicron: The #COVID19 variant is wreaking havoc across the world, leading many countries to re-introduce restrictions. #Thailand has at least 63 confirmed #Omicron cases with dozens of more suspected cases being analyzed, as a domestic transmission is feared.

2) Since Nov 1, in a bid to revive tourism, #Thailand introduced a nearly quarantine-free scheme for fully vaccinated arrivals from selected countries (called "Test & Go". They'd only need to stay for 1 night and can leave when their PCR test is negative.

3) The @thaimoph and its minister Anutin Charnvirakul already proposed on Monday to suspend the "Test & Go" scheme because of #Omicron. At that point, it wasn't decided yet but some thought it was already the case.

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1472770327994257410?s=21

4) The @oc_ccsa, the Thai govt's #COVID19 task force, also hinted on Monday that "adjustments" would need to be made amidst #Omicron. But again, no decision was made yet at that time.

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1472809346467713024?s=21

5) On Tuesday, after the weekly cabinet meeting, PM @prayutofficial called in an emergency meeting of the @oc_ccsa to discuss what to do with #Omicron and what to do with the tourists they were hoping to return to #Thailand to revive its broken economy.

6) At about 3pm, PM @prayutofficial came out of the @oc_ccsa meeting and spontaneously talked to the press, who were not expecting him as he has ignored them previously for a completely different matter.

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1472853851954843650?s=21

7) So, PM @prayutofficial came out to the press to bear the news. This is how we reported it first.

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1473204776649183232?s=21

8) More crucially, PM @prayutofficial also said this, obviously causing a lot of concerned and panicked tourists that have planned their holidays here in the weeks to come:

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1473208724802076673?s=21

9) But then moments later, the regular post-cabinet meeting did NOT mention anything about a quarantine for arrivals already signed up under the "Test & Go" scheme:

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1473212845898620930?s=21

10) The @MFAThai also later clarified many of the points made by the govt earlier, incl. the timing when the new rules come into effect.

https://twitter.com/prdthailand/status/1473251296551395331?s=21

11) So what happened? Basically it was the PM's first words. He said (highlighted part): "That also applies for Thais that have signed up, but from today onwards, (arrivals) have to go through the new scheme, which means quarantine again for 7 or 10 days or whatever applies."

(Source for quote: Matichon Online matichon.co.th/politics/news_…)

12) Just to be clear: The mention of quarantine for arrivals that have already signed up for the "Test & Go" scheme was only mentioned once by the PM and never again by anyone else. So was that a mistake, or a misunderstanding. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be the case now.

13) And yes, it's possible that the PM was misinterpreted (some govt-aligned online trolls are already out calling "fake news").

14) The bigger problem is the sequence of things: within 20 min, the PM's own spox contradicted him. In other words, one clear briefing would've avoided it

In the words from the 1967 movie "Cool Hand Luke": "What we've got here is failure to communicate" (END)